Authors: Marufat Oluyemisi Odetunde, Sekinat Omowumi Ibrahim, Gideon Tolu Oluwagbade, Adesola Christiana Odole, Chidozie Emmanuel Mbada, Morenikeji A. komolafe
INTRODUCTION
A stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures and bleeds, or when there is a blockage in the blood supply to the brain. The rupture or blockage prevents blood and oxygen from reaching the brain’s tissues. Without Oxygen, brain cells and tissue become damaged and begin to die within minutes.
According to research, stroke survivors are more likely to have unrecognized vascular risk factors, including hypertension and diabetes than those who have not suffered a stroke in the past, and people that have suffered a stroke in the past have a high chance of having another stroke.
Even after suffering a stroke, patients’ knowledge of stroke symptoms and risk factors remains limited. This makes stroke survivors an important population to target for educational intervention. Also, stroke literacy among stroke survivors is an important component of reducing the risk of recurrent stroke.
INTERVENTION
This study focused on the development of a mobile health education package in form of audio and video as it will help create awareness and allow easier accessibility. The content of the mobile package includes but is not limited to the definition of stroke, risk factors, management, how to live a healthy lifestyle, and Stroke prevention.
The mobile health package was pilot tested on 30 stroke survivors (SSVs) out of which the majority were males and the SSVs were within the age bracket of 51years and above. The baseline knowledge of the stroke survivors was first assessed after which the educational package was sent to their phones. They were then told to listen to the package at least 3 times a week and their knowledge was re-assessed after the 2nd and 4th-week post-intervention
RESULT
At the end of the study, the mobile health education package revealed improvement in stroke knowledge among SSVs and certainty in recognizing stroke warning signs and symptoms at the 2nd and 4th-week post-intervention.
CONCLUSION
Dissemination of educational intervention via digital means such as videos and audio has been conducted for stroke and other chronic diseases in order to increase knowledge and promote health behavior change. This further justifies the intervention approach employed and corroborated the positive results obtained in this study. Thus its use in spreading stroke awareness was employed and a positive result was obtained.
RECOMMENDATION
The outcome of this study shows that the mobile health educational package is useful, well understood, and can improve knowledge of SSVs on stroke. So, it is effective for stroke survivors as a means of preventing secondary stroke.
Therefore, this package is recommended for delivering education on stroke and spreading awareness on how to prevent secondary stroke in SSVs and the general population.